Law enforcement agents typically carry a variety of tools on their gun belt. Common tools include a handgun, a radio, mace or pepper spray, an electrical weapon such as a taser, a flashlight, handcuffs and keys, additional magazines, a baton, gloves, a multi-tool, and a small first aid kit. The weight of such equipment may reach as much as 10 kilograms and can lead to, or exacerbate, an array of physical conditions like back pain, knee pain, ankle and foot pain, and can contribute to cartilage and tendon injuries. In addition to problems associated with weight of the belt, the necessary size of it can be unwieldy and interfere with normal movement.
Certainly, although some of the equipment carried on a gun belt may be less important or at least less used than other equipment, a weapon is the one article that can't be omitted. Law enforcement officers are too often in a position which requires them to draw a weapon, however it may rarely be evident if any given situation calls for a non-lethal solution such as tear gas, pepper spray, or an electrical weapon, or if the situation requires lethal force. This uncertainly requires the wise law enforcement officer to make the safest choice and choose to draw the weapon with the most stopping power. After all, it is better to be prepared for the worst and not need it, than to be prepared for something less dangerous than the situation demands. Tragically, this forced decision sometimes results in lethal force being used when non-lethal force would have sufficed, leaving behind an unnecessarily injured or killed person, a law enforcement agent forced to live with the results of this forced decision, a maligned law enforcement agency, and an angered public.